Hear me Roar
by Kanyesa
Summary: I have no idea what's going on, but there's this vampire who's decided to adopt me or something, it's the middle ages, and apparently I can't die. Not sure if it's a net loss or not. Self Insert, and some made up backstory for my personal favourite characters from the games.


**Prologue  
**

A presence intruded, something huge forcing its way into and through the collection of half formed images that made up my dream, not even slowing, pieces of it tearing off and being discarded, the terror of the being palpable even in the non-sensation of a dream. _Otherness_ followed in its wake, malignant and implacable, ignoring the leavings of the first, too small for its notice, focus radiating from it, intent on catching its enemy and finally ending this aeons-long chase. The scraps left behind slowly aggregated into one, a consensus was reached, then it spread, merging into the background of the dreamscape, changing it irrevocably; twisting it and shaping it into something no longer human.

 **Chapter 1**

I awoke sweating, my eyes flaring open, panic running through me. I had to get away. Away from... something. Away... the memories faded, taking the urgency with it, leaving just a nervous anticipation. Taking a deep breath in, and out, I forced the emotions down. Just an odd dream, everyone's had those. Nothing to worry about. I almost believed it.

I stretched, yawning, and the light peeking through the curtains caught my eye. I should probably get up. After all, it probably wasn't morning anymore. Good riddance.

First things first. Turn on pc. Then find glasses and apply them to face, resolving the world from a vague blur into the sharp edged vividness that is the status-quo for those not half blind. Nope, not bitter at all. Not me. Something prickled at my attention. A certain anxiousness, like there was something I should be doing. Not a cause for concern, I always forgot something.

Getting up routine begun, next step, ablutions. Shrugging into my clothes, jeans, t-shirt and socks, and headed for the bathroom. My face greeted me in the mirror as I started to brush my teeth. Green eyes, longish (for the average guy) brown hair, a small mouth and a a slightly too large nose. Acceptable, I supposed. Should probably do something about those bags under my eyes though.

Ah well, food time. I headed downstairs, finding the cereal. Yay, cereal. Dust, with milk! Greeted parents, danced arrhythmically to the radio while eating. About noon, the sun was high in the sky, barely a cloud in sight. A good start to the day. I could go for a walk later. I considered this. Perhaps sooner would be better.

"Oh yeah. Was there anything I was supposed to do later?" I asked of my parents. They could generally be trusted to remember my appointments better than me.

Mam glanced up from her horsey magazine to answer."I don't think so" My mother, an angel. "But if you're bored you can always do the hoovering." I take it back, she's a demon in human skin.

"Ah yes, hoovering, I could do that. But I think I will do something else first, yes. Go for a walk or something I think"

"Oh? Special occasion."

"No no, how dare you. Just feel like I should be moving. And it's a lovely day." And so a-walking I went. Found boots, good for walking in. Found outside clothes, good for appearing in public in. Had to do it quick, had to go.

I left the house, no plan for where to go. I just had to go somewhere, fast. I quickened my pace, nearly running. It didn't help. My agitation only grew, my subconscious shouting at me to _run_ , to get as far away as I can from the _thing_ that is coming, that which I could not fight, which would find me anywhere I hid.

 **I SEE** **SOME OF YOU YET REMAINS**

What?! Surely I couldn't have heard that. Nothing that existed that could have a voice like that, a voice that Spoke to my soul in tones of absolute hate, drenching me in the cold sweat of terror. My legs gave out beneath me, pitching me on my face.

 **TIME TO RECTIFY THAT**

I was right, it didn't have a voice at all, it merely changed my past so that it had already spoken. Even worse than that, it wasn't speaking to me at all, but to something in me that had never been there before. Or rather it had, I had just been ignoring it. Since I work up this morning it had been there. And just like that, the memory of the dream came crashing back into my head. Something from outside had carved a path through my head, likely not even noticing I was there, chased by _something_ implacable, that no more noticed me than you noticed the shadow of an ant, and had left pieces of its self behind, that had bonded with me, merged with me, changing me on some fundamental level. And now its enemy had come back, seeking to finish the job.

I felt something reach out to me, with senses I knew I didn't have, and a cold rage settled over me; 'Not like this, not at the hands of some monster who refuses to even recognize my existence.' I reached out desperately and tore open the fabric of the world, something inside me breaking as I did so, and hurled myself through. The hole snapped shut behind me instants before the _other_ reached me, its cry of rage echoing through as I fell into the black.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

When I next opened my eyes, I was greeted with quite the view, a horizon to horizon expanse of snowy pine forest, a low sun tingeing the cloudless sky a deep pink, and a rather large lake a few miles sunwards reflecting the sky like a mirror.

Immediately afterwards, I was greeted with the realisation that said forest was approaching rather rapidly.

' _Well, I guess now I know how the whale felt._ ' There was indeed a whistling roaring sound, that I could quite comfortably name as 'wind'. There was also rather a lot of it. I would in fact, quite like there to be considerably less. The ground was also coming up rather fast, filling my vision.

"I wish I had thought of some half decent last words." I complained, then closed my eyes and relaxed. With any luck, this was a dream. Note to self; when I get up, think of some good last words.

The impact came suddenly. One arm was caught by something at the shoulder, and I distinctly felt tendons snapping as it abandoned me. The next hit was directly to my stomach, folding me around a branch, and my eyes flew open in shock. Not that I stayed there long, as the branch tore away from the tree to follow me down, and the next few moments were a whirling blur of pain and meaty thuds as nature did its very best to kill me, ending in a very final thump as I hit the snow.

Not that it seemed to have succeeded. Sure, I had left an arm up near the top, and various other parts of me on the way down, and was embedded a good couple inches into the soil, but I was still conscious, and not actually in very much pain. Sure, it had hurt an awful lot on the trip, but I felt remarkably fine now. I even had a new arm.

"Screw you gravity, I win" I shouted, grinning. Take that you force of nature. Finally, in the ongoing battle between the ground and objects travelling at terminal velocity, the ground had lost. This somehow struck me as absolutely hilarious; I was rapidly reduced to that sort of silent hysterical laughter that isn't quite crying, and remained in that state for a good fair while. However all things must end, and finally, I uncurled to take stock of things.

"Never, never ever doing that again" Anyway, location; fuck knows. Local condition; cold as balls, near sunset. Available resources; mostly shredded warm weather clothing. My glasses had disappeared somewhere en-route, probably when the tree decided it would make better use of my eyes, but at least I didn't seem to need them anymore, and wasn't that a relief.

Always looking on the bright side, that's me. Besides, this had to be one of those bizarre dreams where you thought you'd woken up but never actually had. It had happened to me before. On the other hand, it was a policy of mine that if I were to ever find myself in a situation where I was unsure of the existence of things, to treat them as if they were real, just on the off chance they were.

My options were pretty limited here however. I had some basic survival knowledge, I had been in the scouts for a number of years after all, but most of it relied on having at least a knife or something. Water could be got from snow if necessary, but that would result in hypothermia crazy fast. Although, I was pretty sure I should already be feeling the effects of that, considering I was wearing not much, most of it was soaked in either snow or blood, and it was likely several degrees below freezing. Yet strangely enough, I felt pretty much fine.

 _'I can't rely on something like that though'_ Right, immediate priorities, vacate the area. I didn't know anything about the local wildlife, and the amount of me hanging off that tree would likely attract the wrong sort of attention.

"I really should be more bothered about that." Somehow it just didn't seem very important. I left anyway, trudging off through the 5 inches or so of snow. Second priority, shelter of some sort. Under some low hanging branches would probably be ideal. They would create a sort of cave of snow and pine needles.

Third priority, fire. Even if I was immune to the cold, fire had psychological effects that were almost as important. It gave both a feeling of accomplishment, which was important to keep the motivation up, and a feeling of safety, which was important to stop me going crazy. It would also keep most predators away while I slept, and could be used to signal for help.

If there was any help to be found out here anyway. I didn't remember seeing any signs of civilisation while I was falling. There was a lake though, and lakes normally meant rivers. And if you followed a river, it was much more likely that you would find something else. Most of the interesting things happened near rivers.

I looked around for a taller than average tree, there was no way I would be able to find the lake without seeing it. I was in luck, there was one nearby, and it didn't seem too hard to climb. Lots of branches near the ground. I climbed it slowly and carefully. A fall might not cause any real harm, but it would hurt, dammit.

"It was sunwards from where I landed wasn't it." Sure enough, I looked in that direction from a perch near the top, and saw a reassuring gleam poking through the trees. It was a good few miles away. Several hours walk on good terrain, and this wasn't. Walking through snow is exhausting. I reckoned I could make it though. The sun also appeared to have not moved towards the horizon at all, which said bad things about my latitude. Could've been worse though, at least it was summer. More worryingly, it meant I couldn't rely on the sun to point my way to the lake, as it would circle the whole sky over the course of the day. On the other hand the lake did seem to be vaguely downhill from here, something I probably should have expected, so I could use that to keep myself mostly on course.

' _I guess I'll just have to get as far as I can right now, and worry about tomorrow tomorrow_ ' And so I climbed back down, and headed off, deciding that I would walk until the sun had reached approximately 90 degrees from my heading. That would hopefully leave me enough energy to find some sort of shelter.

It was a long walk. Cold and silent, the only sounds the steady crunch-crunch of my footsteps in the snow.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I stopped at last when a gentle snowfall began. A good long while had passed and I reckoned I had crossed about half the distance. It seemed as good a point as any to settle down. A few minutes searching turned up a reasonably promising shelter. A tree had fallen against another, ending up resting about 4 feet off the ground. The hanging down branches had been covered by the snow, creating a small dry cave beneath the trunk. It would do.

I set about making it more comfortable, brushing out any snow that had fallen in, revealing a floor of pine needles, earth and roots. I would have liked to start a fire of some sort as well, but it looked like I would have to make do without. There was no dry wood, and I had nothing to start a fire with even if I found some.

My last act before turning in was to pull some branches across the opening I had used to enter. The snowfall should cover them before long, and that would hopefully mean I wouldn't wake up covered in ice.

It took a long while for me to fall asleep. At one point I even wondered whether my new-found powers would prevent me from ever sleeping. It didn't help that no matter how I lay, there was always some root digging in somewhere, but eventually I drifted off.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I woke from a fitful sleep to the sound of heavy footsteps crunching through the snow outside my little shelter. I froze still. If I didn't move, then it wouldn't be able to find me.

Something snuffled loudly just outside. There was a pause of absolute silence. I didn't even dare breathe. Then the footsteps started up again. I lay immobile in the pitch black as they got quieter and quieter, until finally I could hear nothing at all. I relaxed with a sigh. At least something was alive out here. Despite the relief that brought it struck me that letting whatever that was gain some distance was probably a good idea. It was likely a bear, assuming the denizens of this dream had any consistency with the rest of its content. Not something to worry about at the moment, sleep would be important over the next few days. And so, stretching out the kinks, I rolled over and went back to sleep.

When I next woke, the snow had ended. One quick climb of a tall tree later, and I was once more headed lakewards, following a trail of rather large footprints. They certainly seemed to confirm my theory of it being a bear, but it wasn't like I had any real experience with such things. Ah well, whatever they were, I was sure they were long gone.

I was wrong. I caught up with it quite soon. Luckily for me, or perhaps unluckily, something far more dangerous had found it first.

I stepped into the clearing and froze as I caught sight of it. A large bear, lying on its back, unmoving. And what seemed to be a young blue haired girl curled up on its chest, blood coating her lower face and arms, and splattered across her blue and white dress. A girl who's gaze had fixated on me the moment I stepped into the open.

"Ah, so it was you." She mumbled just loud enough for me to her, then stretched like a cat, little black wings flaring out from her back, and hopped off her perch. I barely dared breathe. "Relax, I'm full." Strangely enough, this had little effect on my level of tension. "Fine, be like that. It was your fault I got hungry anyway."

I blinked.

"Not sure I'm following you there."

She flopped into the snow next to me, then rolled onto her back and grinned up at me. Her teeth were shiny.

"I was pretty sure I had enough in me to last till I got through this forest, then what should I come across but a certain tree. One that had this most alluring aroma." I was pretty sure I knew where this was going.

"Did you at least get my arm down?" ' _No, bad! Don't be flippant with the strange girl that eats bears'_ Her eyes snapped to mine, an incredulous line to her face. I was much happier with incredulity than offence. Less likely to get me damaged.

"That was your arm? What on earth were you fighting to get an arm all the way up there?" What? That... was not the answer I was expecting.

"Huh? I didn't fight anything. I fell from a very great height. What on earth made you think it was a fight?" She looked even more taken-aback than I felt. Seriously? I was pretty sure I didn't look like the violent sort. Bloodied and torn clothing aside of course.

She shook the surprise off almost immediately, her brows furrowing adorably in contemplation. Well, as adorably as a 12 year old seeming girl can while half covered in blood.

"So, if it is not you killing everything around here, what has been? Last time I came through here it was much more alive. That bear and you are the first living things I have seen in three days."

There was a short pause as we considered this. Well, I considered this, she merely lay in the snow as at ease as if she were in her bed.

"Well, I think I'd like to leave here now. You wouldn't happen to know the way to the nearest town would you?" I smiled winsomely. With any luck that's where she was headed and wouldn't mind a tag-along. She may be mildly terrifying herself, but so far she hadn't actually threatened me. The lesser of two evils and all that.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I wasn't sure this counted as good luck. Sure, she was headed towards civilisation, and sure I could tag along, but...

"Stop whimpering, we are not that high up." Apparently she could fly, quite fast. While carrying me. Normally I'd be all over that, but her arms felt way too thin to be holding me, and I had just had a traumatic experience involving heights. I might have actually complained, except I had a sneaking suspicion she might just drop me. Also, while uncomfortable, it shouldn't take all that long. I only had to hold out for another 20 minutes or so. Shouldn't be that hard.

Of course, just as I thought that she adjusted her grip, and holding in my displeasure became a lot harder. I definitely didn't squeak though. No matter what some people may claim.

"Can you go any faster? I'd like to get this over with." My voice barely quavered. I was far more proud of that than I probably should be.

She giggled and obliged. I just closed my eyes.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"We're nearly there." I opened my eyes, and sure enough, we were setting down outside a small village, some 15 odd buildings, heavily built from wood, nestled in a cove by the lake. It seemed pretty quiet, and the sun appeared to be finally dropping, but there were still a few people were walking around. A small party emerged from the largest building, and headed hesitantly in our direction. My companion dropped me on my face, and walked to greet them.

I was too busy getting reacquainted with the ground too pay much attention to their conversation, but they seemed to recognise her and treat her with a certain amount of deference, perhaps even fear. In short order they had offered 'The Lady' a room in their communal hall, and 'her Companion' a space on the floor just outside said room. I could hear the capital letters dropping into place.

I was happy for a lie down and quickly headed for a comfortable looking pile of furs, but apparently she had different ideas. She walked past me, head held high and tossed a quick "Companion! I require your services" over her shoulder. It seemed she had taken a liking to that. How troublesome. Ah well, I needed to learn her name anyway. I followed to her room, resigned to my fate. I could already tell there was no point fighting about this.

"How may I serve, My Lady." Besides, it could be entertaining. "Also, might I enquire after Milady's name."

She turned to face me, and tossed her hair. Somehow, she managed to look almost regal, despite being barely four foot, and the blood on her, well, everything. "I," she declared grandly, "am Lady Remilia Scarlet, direct descendant of Count Vlad Ţepeş Dracul. And you are?"

"John Smith, Handyman, at your service." I bowed extravagantly as I said it.

"I require a bath, as well as a change of clothes. You will procure these." You couldn't do this while you were talking to them?

Thankfully, the women of the village had anticipated her, and it was sorted without my needing to get directly involved. The Good Lady Scarlet seemed disappointed she wouldn't get to boss me about, but I was thankful for the break.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I would pay for it later though. Somehow she roped me into combing out her hair, and well...

"Come on, just a little sip. You have plenty going to waste!" She looked up despondently at me over her shoulder, her lower lip wobbling.

"Yes, your pout is adorable, no, you can't have any of my blood" Somehow, she managed to make her eyes even bigger and more watery. Seriously, that should be illegal. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be a big bad vampire, creature of the night and all that. I'm sure that pouting when you don't get your way is supposed to be beneath you." She let the pout go, and I sighed in relief. It was not to last.

"Well, I guess I could just take it, if that's what you'd rather. I know some guys are into that kinda thing." She winked(!) with a sly grin.

"I'm sure you're far too young to be saying things like that." She had actually managed to shock me, she should be proud.

"How old do you even think I am?" Oops, don't belittle the proud vampire. Heh, belittle. It's funny because she's short.

"I have no idea, but you look eleven." That that was the wrong answer was immediately apparent. I suspected there was no right answer.

"I have been a vampire for thirty seven and a half years, and I was turned on my 11th birthday. I am hardly innocent." She turned away with a 'hmmph'. Not helping your case there Remilia.

An awkward silence reigned for the next minute as she scrupulously avoided looking at me, before I finally worked up the courage to speak again. "So, I was wondering where we are."

"Civilisation, isn't that what you wanted?" Aww man, she was still mad.

"It is what I wanted, and I am very grateful. However, what I meant is that I don't even know what part of the world this is." She turned to face me again, one delicate eyebrow raised in bemusement. I wish I could do that, damn my synchronised eyebrows. "Seriously, my first memory here is falling out of the sky to land on that tree. I have memories of geography and culture, but nothing else relevant."

She sighed, and the tension drained from the room. "Northern Europe, Sweden to be precise."

"Huh. I'm pretty sure I don't speak Swedish. What year is it?" These questions probably should have been asked earlier, but well, I was a chronic procrastinator.

"It's August 21st, 1551 AD, and I've been speaking Swedish this whole time. You weren't aware?"

Wow. I hadn't noticed at all. Apparently I was now a polyglot. And a time traveller. Awesome. "I've never been very good at languages." She just looked confused. Aww, I thought that one was pretty good. "You're all done. I'll be outside." I rose and headed for the door, only to stop when I heard her say.

"Not a bad job Companion. I may get you to do it again." I turned and frowned at her, but found it strangely hard to be actually annoyed. Her hair was wonderfully fluffy, and combined with the enormous woollen nightgown they had found for her, she hardly looked dangerous at all. Just, small and cute.

"I have had practice. Goodnight."

"I still haven't had that blood." And then she had to ruin it.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Despite saying goodnight to Remilia, I knew there was no way I would be able to get to sleep myself. I had only been up for a couple of hours. So I left her room in search of things to tide me over till she woke. It would probably also be a good idea to try to find out more about what was going on this world I had ended up in, as well as hopefully a bit more about my newfound companion. I wasn't very much interested in sticking around in a small town in the middle of nowhere after all, and she seemed to be my only real ticket out of here.

Fortunately, I didn't have to search very far. When I left her room I discovered that the large (relative to the others in the village) building we had been sequestered in had filled up somewhat, and the sky outside had darkened considerably. Noone had noticed me yet, and I took the opportunity to observe the locals. There were two main groups, split mainly down gender lines, although there was considerable overlap. It seemed less segregation and more... They were gathered on benches around two large fires, and the smell of roasting meat floated through the air. The stone under my feet was cold, and a cold draft from the open door brought out a reflexive shiver. The flames streamed out in the wind, sending long shadows dancing up the walls, only to calm as the person entering closed the door behind them to a chorus of greetings.

'He seems familiar'. I watched the man who'd just entered. He was taller than most of the others, built fairly heavily, with shaggy blonde hair, and a truly majestic beard. He was also the first to notice me, and immediately came to greet me, a great toothy grin splitting his beard.

"I see you skulking there! Come, come, join us." He threw an arm around my shoulders, and dragged me forward to join the other men. A large haunch of meat hung on a spitroast before the fire, a keg of something alcoholic besides one of the benches. A mug of said something was pressed into my hands, and I was pushed gently but firmly to a seat before the fire.

"So tell us, what brings you to these parts my friend?" The man's voice was as large as his body, and is hands made great swooping gestures as he spoke. He hadn't even started drinking yet, and he was more expressive than I get at the end of an all night bender.

" To be honest, I got lost." I took a swig of my drink. It burned all the way down, lighting a fire in my belly. "Hoo, that's strong!" I said with a grin. "Good stuff." It really wasn't too bad, although there was little flavour.

"The man can hold his drink!" There was much merriment. I guess I didn't look all that. Oh well. I just took another swig. After today, getting good and sloshed would be much appreciated, and these people certainly knew how to make someone feel welcome. A sharp grin crossed my face as a most excellent idea hit me.

"Better than most, I reckon." The bait was set.

"A contest it is!" This guy was sharp, wow. But that was what I had been aiming at, so I could hardly complain. Several things happened very quickly, and then me and the blond giant were sitting opposite each other at a heavy wooden table, several large mugs between us, full to overflowing, and a plate of bread and meat for the taking.

"How do we decide who wins?" It was time to get my gameface on, I have always loved a challenge.

"We drink, and we talk, and we eat, and whoever passes out last wins." I could get behind those rules, and said so. I wasn't a huge fan of drinking until I passed out, but everything else sounded like my kind of party. He just grinned, and tipped his first mug into his face. I hurried to do the same, luxuriating in the burn.

"Does this happen every night?" I asked. From what little I knew, medieval societies rarely had the resources to indulge in something like this.

"No no. The nights are getting longer, and it's nearly time for us to head south. So we're using up the goods that won't keep and we'll be leaving within the week." Now that he was no longer the centre of attention, most of the other men having drifted back towards the fire, he was a lot more subdued. His voice was still large, and he still seemed to take up far more space than a single person should be capable of, but he no longer roared out every sentence. He took another swig, and continued. "It'll be nice to be in more settled parts again. I won't miss the wolves, that's for sure."

"Where will be heading to?"

"Umeå, a port city. Sell our goods to the merchants there, then pick up whatever work we can find. What plans do you have?" I didn't really have any to be perfectly honest. I doubted Remilia would be interested in a hanger-on, and I would prefer not to be a burden to these people. When I told him this though, he just frowned. "I wouldn't be too sure, she seems awfully interested in you. You should be careful there, monsters like her aren't to be trusted."

"I'm sure you would know better than me. What can you tell me about her, it would be nice to know what to watch out for." I found it hard to believe she could really be so bad, she hadn't made any threatening moves towards me, besides wanting my blood. Actually, I could kinda see where he was coming from with that. She may have looked cuddly last I saw her, but I shouldn't forget that she had been covered in blood when I first met her.

"She's a strange one. As proud as the stories say, but much less aggressive. She's been through here twice now, and as long as no insult is offered, she barely seems to notice us." His face was screwed up in contemplation. "She seems to be searching for something, and as long as no-one gets in the way, they're ignored. Which is why it's so odd that she brought you."

"I guess that is strange. I don't think I'm all that interesting." He choked on his drink.

"Really? You realise you are basically shirtless yes? And what little of your clothing remains is bloodstained. Yet you don't seem to notice the cold at all. You have also been drinking our strongest drinks down like they are water." I noticed my second mug was empty. They must be leaking. "You, my friend, are most definitely interesting."

"I see your point." I had completely forgotten about the state of my clothing. I wasn't cold, even if I could tell that the air was cold, so it was unimportant. It did explain the strange looks I got when trying to organise a bath for Remilia. What else had I been forgetting? I was just drifting off into my own head, questioning my every action since I arrived here, when he spoke up again.

"What are you? And what are your intentions here?" He leant forward, his voice suspicious, probing. I could feel a cold sweat start to creep up my back, and I zoned in on the conversation with laser like focus. This wasn't a friendly drinking contest anymore. In fact, it was quite likely that it hadn't been from the very beginning. My muscles started to tens as adrenaline flooded into my system.

"As far as I know, I'm still human." I spoke slowly. How much information should I give this man. He didn't seem hostile, but there was potential for it there. He seemed mostly motivated by keeping his people safe, after all, he wanted to know what I was doing _here._ Make myself out to be a victim, yet not one that was trying to leach off him. That would probably work best. "I wasn't lying when I said I got lost. I had been taking a walk, then I came to in the snow, as you see me now, and nothing I recognised in sight. I spotted the lake, and headed for that, only to meet Miss Scarlet on the way. As to why she took an interest in me, I am as lost as you." I injected as much sincerity into my tone as I could. It seemed to work; he leaned back again, and took on a more thoughtful air.

He didn't speak for a while, just studied me and nursed his drink. I busied myself with the meat and bread, building a massive sandwich, trying not to let my nerves show. I had never felt more like a child.

"I see. What do you plan on doing now?" That was a good question. I hadn't really considered anything beyond what was immediately in front of me, a habit of mine I would have to fix to survive here. I needed to start thinking in the longer term.

"As far as I can tell, my only real options are to make myself useful to you, and stay with you, or try to take advantage of the interest Miss Scarlet has in me." Neither option really appealed all that much. I was far too lazy to enjoy the kind of work these people would have me doing, and as he had said, I couldn't really trust that Remilia had good intentions.

"Hmmm. What skills do you have that we might find useful?" Acck. I was pretty sure I didn't have very much to offer them.

"I'm fairly good with my hands, and I learn quickly." Something else occurred to me. "I'm also pretty good at languages and sums." He looked mildly interested at that. Turns out my modern education may come in handy after all. "However, that hinges on Miss Scarlet being inclined to let me go. If her interest in me is as unusual as you say, she may not give me a choice." Isn't it lovely to feel wanted.

"We'll see. I'll talk to the others, see if we have a place for you. We won't get in her way for you though." That's more than I expected.

"It's fine. I've never been too worried about what exactly happens, provided something does." He grinned, teeth shining white in the firelight.

"A good attitude to have my friend. Now, let us enjoy these fine victuals." And so we did. Long into the night.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

I woke up the next day fully refreshed, and took a moment to luxuriate on the wonderful softness of my bed, as well as the delightful contrast between the warmth under the covers and the bitter cold outside of them. All good things end though, and I knew I would have to get up soon. No doubt the mother would have something for me to do, and I had stories to read and games to play.

"I know you're awake." That voice... I opened my eyes, to be greeted with a blue haired grinning face hovering inches above mine. My heart leapt into my throat, and adrenaline hit me like a lightning bolt, setting my muscles twitching with pent up energy. It must have shown. "Not a complete stone wall after all." Her smile grew even wider. "It's nice to see I haven't completely lost my touch."

I kept my breathing steady and even, slowly calming myself down. "If whatever this is is you having lost your touch, I'd have hated to see it when you hadn't. Now let me up." I moved to stand, only to get pushed back down effortlessly.

"Ah ah ah. I need to talk to you."

"Okay. I'm listening." Any conversation could be had as easily here as anywhere else.

"I'm afraid I won't take no.. wait, what?" Her confusion was a sight to behold.

"I said I'm listening." I smiled, too innocently. That was far from my favourite way to wake up, and needling her, while probably not a good idea, made me feel much better about it. She seemed at a loss for what to say, and I had no doubt the sight would soon be one of my fondest memories. It seemed I had already made my decision. She would no doubt be immensely aggravating, and possibly incredibly dangerous, but she would never be boring. Hopefully we wouldn't be flying everywhere though.

"Right. Yes, you did." She took a deep breath. "I have been searching for something, and I would appreciate your help." I considered agreeing immediately just to see if I could throw her off again, but if I kept quiet then she might tell me more. "I can't pretend it will be perfectly safe, but I will be there to provide protection, and you'll certainly have a better and safer life than if you stayed with these people."

"Why me?" That was the important question here. I didn't much care about the rest of it, but I have always preferred to know where I stand with people, whether she actually liked my company or if she simply thought I had something useful to her.

She took a moment to consider. "Two main reasons. Firstly, you're something new, you smell like a human, yet you _seem_ old. Very old. Secondly, you're not afraid of me. Even most monsters have a tinge of fear, yet even when I woke you it was nothing more than startlement." It was true, I had considerable difficulty seeing her as anything more than a young girl. But that other reason, that was strange. When she said I _seem_ old, I don't think she was talking about the way I act, or the way I look. It was likely that vampires, and other non-humans, had senses that we didn't. "So, are you going to come with me or not."

"It would be a pleasure. As long as you're not carrying me everywhere."


End file.
